Nitrogen Sustains Seed Yield of Quinoa Under Intermediate Drought

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a promising crop for food security in dry areas. Studies have been conducted to define nitrogen (N) fertilization levels and to understand the responses of quinoa to drought, but little is known about the response of this crop to N fertilization under drought stress. The aim of this study was to investigate whether N fertilization could improve quinoa yield and physiology under limited water. A greenhouse experiment was carried out with quinoa grown at four N fertilization levels (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6g N pot(-1)) and two watering treatments (progressive drought and full irrigation; 10 and 98% of pot water holding capacity, respectively). Results of this experiment showed that N may confer a certain degree of drought tolerance to quinoa as seed quality and yield of N-fertilized plants were not affected by drought stress. Responses such as faster stomatal closure, reduced leaf water potential, higher leaf abscisic acid (ABA) concentration and particularly an improved N remobilization in N-fertilized plants may have played a role in sustaining seed yield in the drought-stressed treatment. These results under controlled conditions serve as a basis to elucidate drought tolerance mechanisms activated with N fertilization and to define the use of N in management practices under semi-arid environments.